We decided to select Coursera courses that may be interesting and useful to people working with sound: musicians, composers, and sound engineers, both experienced and just thinking about making the first steps. The courses offered will help:
- Become familiar with the physical basics of sound and acoustics;
- To get a primary or extended understanding of music theory, psychoacoustics, etc.;
- To get acquainted with digital sound processing, software tools, and processing mechanisms;
- Learn how to write your own simple sound processing programs;
- Finally, learn to play guitar, jazz improvisation, rehearsal management, and other exciting things.
If you are a student and want to improve your knowledge of music, these courses will be perfect for you. It might be challenging to combine your college and an additional online course. However, nowadays, you can just google “pay someone to write my paper,” and you will find a service that will help you save time and still keep up with your academic performance.
For those who don’t know, Coursera is one of the sites with a bunch of different distance learning courses from major (and not so major) international universities. Each class starts at a particular time, and new video lectures and homework are posted weekly. If you are not lazy and do your assignments successfully, at the end of the course, you get an electronic certificate of completion (which, however, we can find little use for). Most of the courses are recorded in English, but there are other languages as well.
Fundamentals of Audio and Music Engineering: Part 1 Musical Sound & Electronics
This 6-week course covers the theoretical foundations of sound and acoustics as well as signals and electronics as they relate to music. The course syllabus covers selected topics in wave theory, electrical engineering, and radio electronics. Judging by the program, the creators’ favorite instrument is the electric guitar. And the final project is a guitar amplifier you can make with your hands.
Approximate workload: 4-5 hours per week
Base Campus: University of Rochester
Music Production
This course will tell you about the process of creating a sound recording, from the actual recording to editing and mixing, and about the necessary hardware and software tools used in the process. The lecturers will tell you about recording equipment, different kinds of processing, and effects, and a separate lesson will be devoted to synthesizers.
Course duration: 6 weeks
Approximate course load: 6-8 hours per week
Base Campus: Berklee College of Music
Jazz Improvisation
According to the best essay writing service researchers, this is one of the best online courses for musicians. The creator of this course will try to teach you something that seemingly can only be given from above. You will learn about the musical and mental skills an improviser combines when playing. You will learn about creating logical musical phrases, the choice of musical steps in different harmonic situations, aspects of applying music theory to play, and even a little about putting your soul and emotion into your performance. The course is designed for those who know at least an intermediate level of playing a musical instrument. You will also need at least a very simple microphone to record your homework.
Course Duration: 5 weeks
Approximate course load: 6-8 hours per week
Base Campus: Berklee College of Music
Guitar for Beginners
Unlike the previous course, this course is designed for beginners. You’ll learn how to choose your first acoustic or electric guitar, tune it, the most straightforward techniques, and the basics of music theory. In addition, get information about effects and sound reinforcement for electric and acoustic guitars. You will need a microphone to record your homework.
Course Duration: 6 weeks
Approximate course load: 6-8 hours per week
Base Campus: Berklee College of Music
Songwriting: Writing the Music
The course creator promises to tell how to create and rhyme lyrics for songs more effectively, how to go from an idea to a finished piece, how to achieve the unity of words and music, and convey the author’s view and emotions to the listener. According to the creators, musical education is unnecessary, but you will need a microphone because you will have to record your sketches and creations. It’s pretty humanistic.
Course duration: 4 weeks
Approximate course load: 6-8 hours per week
Base Campus: Berklee College of Music
Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles
This course is helpful for those who lead musical ensembles, from small groups to choirs and orchestras. The course covers the skills necessary for effective leadership, including organization of the rehearsal process, basics of conducting, musical expression, ear training, interaction with performers, etc.
Course duration: 6 weeks
Approximate course load: 4-6 hours/week
Base Campus: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
So, never give up learning new things about music. A lot of decent information is still out there. To become a great specialist, you better prioritize your time well. For example, it will be more helpful if you find on reddit essay writing service and leave your homework writing assignments for them and spend saved time for taking another knowledgeable course in your field.
